Integrated Environmental Assessment (IEA) is defined as the process of producing and communicating future-oriented, policy-relevant information on key interactions between the natural environment and human society.
The methodology underlying IEA has been pioneered and championed by the Global Environment Outlook (GEO), the flagship assessment and reporting process on the status and direction of the global environment of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). GEO is a consultative, participatory, capacity building process and a series of reports, analysing environmental change, causes and impacts, and policy responses, providing information for decision making at global and sub-global levels.
The purpose of this GEO Resource Book is to help build capacity for forward-looking IEA and reporting at the sub-global level. Users of the GEO Resource Book will:
- understand the rationale for undertaking forward-looking, integrated environmental assessment using UNEP's Global Environment Outlook (GEO) approach;
- understand the importance of mandate for an IEA, options for its governance structure and participatory process, and be able to construct an impact strategy;
- be familiar with the conceptual and methodological aspects of carrying out the assessment, including the analysis of environmental trends and policies, and the study of policy options in the context of future scenarios;
- be capable of organizing the process for producing physical and electronic outputs from the IEA; and
- have the knowledge and skills to set up a monitoring and evaluation process focused on the IEA itself as part of a continuous learning process to improve the assessment.
The brochure provides a quick overview of the GEO Resource Book's content and intended use in training programs around the world.
